Biography

Formed in 1960 in San Diego, California, USA, Rosie And The Originals were 15-year-old Rosalie Rosie Hamlin (Alaska, USA), Noah Tafolla (guitar), Carl Van Guida (drums), Tony Gomez (saxophone) and David Ponci (guitar). Hamlin wrote their only hit song, Angel Baby (wrongly credited to Ponci), as a poem to her first boyfriend, then set it to music on a piano. They recorded the doo-wop ballad and then found a local label, Highland Records, to issue it. The record became a local sensation on Los Angeles radio station KFWB before breaking nationally in late 1960, eventually climbing to the US Top 5. Rosie And The Originals recorded no albums but, with the assistance of Jackie Wilson, Hamlin later recorded for Brunswick Records, including Lonely Blue Nights (as Rosie formerly with the Originals) in 1961. She subsequently married Tafolla, then divorced and later appeared in oldies shows, performing with a band, the LA Rhythm...